The two most popular reality competitions in American television history have butted heads on Wednesday night for years now and have had an unofficial battle since 2003. That's when, in its second season, “American Idol” shot past “Survivor” in the ratings on its way to a record eight straight years as the No. 1 show in the Nielsen ratings.

Now, 11 years later, “Survivor” is back on top – sort of. “American Idol” still outpolled “Survivor: Cagayan” in total viewers, 10.3 million to 9.7 million, but “Survivor” won among adults under 50, the group that is most important to networks and their advertisers. It was the first time “Survivor” has topped “American Idol” head-to-head since it returned to Wednesdays in 2010.

“Survivor” began life as a summer series in 2000 that shocked everyone with its astonishing ratings, drawing 51 million viewers to its first finale. Season 2 was the No. 1 series of 2001. Then along came “American Idol” to unseat “Survivor” both in the ratings and in American culture.

In the last few years, both shows have seen their ratings erode, but “American Idol” is falling much faster. The decay seems to have leveled off for “Survivor,” while “American Idol” is still searching for the bottom. Thursday's results episode drew fewer than 9 million viewers.

“Survivor: Cagayan” 8 p.m., Wednesday With the “brains” tribe now at half strength, the teams will be realigned on this week's episode. We're guessing the 14 remaining contestants will be split into two new tribes; it seems a little early for “The Merge.” Predictably for a contest that relies heavily on physical ability early on, it was the “brawn” and “beauty” tribes that did better, especially when the alleged smart people made the not-so-bright choice to eliminate their strongest people first.

“American Idol” 8 p.m. Wednesday and 9 p.m. Thursday, Fox The gender wars evened out a bit this week, as two guys fell to the bottom three and one of them went home. Ben Briley was the third finalist to go home, a particularly unlucky outcome as he misses out on the annual Idol Tour and its six-figure paycheck. Sam Woolf was the other guy in the bottom three. They were joined by Majesty Rose, who made her first trip to the uncomfortable chrome stools.

“The Voice” 8 tonight and next Monday, NBC The coaches finished assembling their teams Tuesday, closing out the audition sessions with typical choosiness. Only one singer prompted all four judges to turn their chairs: Kaleigh Glanton from Kansas, who performed a knockout version of “Have You Ever Seen the Rain.” She chose Blake Shelton, leaving the other three coaches to pick up one last contestant each, and they ended up passing on four of the seven they heard. The four-episode Battle Rounds began last night, but too late for this column. For a report on the results, see ocregister.com/blogs/watcher.

“Hell's Kitchen” 8 p.m. Thursday, Fox The 12th season began in typical form, with Gordon Ramsay throwing out food, berating chefs left and right and declaring the first service the worst in series history. Jason Zepaltas, who had to withdraw early in Season 9 because of illness, became the first person to serve Ramsay a signature dish twice. He survived. But Gaurav Navin, an executive chef from Pennsylvania, did not, and became Season 12's first ejectee.

“The Amazing Race 8 p.m. Sunday, CBS Let's beat the drum some more about the importance of good challenges: Sunday's excellent episode rested on a couple that genuinely tested the contestants. The Roadblock, which required one person from each pair to jump on a bamboo trampoline, proved exhausting to some. But it was the Detour in Kuala Lumpur that provided the most drama. The choice between mixing drinks or learning some DJ tricks sounded like fun but proved brutally difficult. Professional reality-show contestants Brendon Villegas and Rachel Reilly spent more than three hours trying to master the drink-mixing challenge and reached the Pit Stop last. Fortunately for them, host Phil Keoghan delivered the news that it would be a non-elimination leg. Cowboy brothers Jet and Cord McCoy notched their second win.

“Dancing With the Stars” 8 p.m. Monday, ABC The 18th season kicked off Monday night, too late for this column's deadline. For a brief recap, see ocregister.com/blogs/watcher.

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